Rebel Wilson suffers legal setback over defamation lawsuit

Rebel Wilson has suffered a legal setback in her defamation battle against film producers.

In July, the 44-year-old Australian star accused producers of her directorial debut, The Deb, of "vile and disgusting behaviour" while also claiming they tried to stop the film from debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival.

But producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden have hit back at the public accusations made against them and took legal action - launching a defamation case against the Pitch Perfect star.

Wilson suffered a legal setback this week when a court denied her plea for the case to be thrown out.

On Friday, Deadline reported LA Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long ruling, "Because the Court finds that the statements are not protected activities subject to an anti-SLAPP motion, the Court does not proceed to the second prong of the analysis for the Plaintiffs' likelihood of prevailing on the merits."

The judge then bluntly added, "Accordingly, the anti-SLAPP motion is hereby Denied."

Judge Long is also quoted stating, "The fact that defendant's statements accuse plaintiff of criminal conduct make them defamatory on their face."

The trio of producers took action to sue Wilson, and back in July accused her of, "spreading vicious lies without regard for the irreparable damage her reckless words would cause on the hard-earned personal and professional reputations of Plaintiffs."

As a result of the ongoing legal action, The Deb is not expected to be screened beyond it's TIFF screening four months ago.